As some readers will know, Betty has been learning various aerial circus apparatus over the past few months. The other night was the circus school’s show, and Betty and a fellow-student presented a spot of static trapeze, like so.
Category Archives: Adventures
Sheepish
Betty and the husband person paid a visit to some friends the other day.
Going to Cornwall Park is lovely; there’s more than enough room to visit many times and never walk the same way twice. This time was all sheep and grasses, but if one wants massive fountains or flowerbeds or groves of trees or hills to climb they’re just as easy to come by.
Belated birthday
It was Betty’s birthday the other day, but as it was also a long workday, Betty left it until today to celebrate. Oddly, there didn’t seem to be any Christmas eve rush to get to the farmer’s market…
There was a rush on the fancy lettuce, though, of course, and no watercress to be found. But Betty got some kale on the way home, to make up for it. The market itself was pleasing – there were carolers and a jazz band, lentil and portobello pies, and delicious coffee (the last of the season: Betty is giving it up, Lent-style, over Christmas. It tends to play havoc with her blood sugar, and the summer break seems a good time to coddle the adrenals, so it’s peppermint tea from now on, at least until the pre-dawn teaching starts again).
And after the market, Betty and the husband person stopped at the beach. It had one of those oversized picture-frames mounted in front of the view. Is that a worldwide phenomenon?
Last seen wandering vaguely
Betty’s almost entire family were up in Auckland this week to watch sister number five, Right-Angle Girl, have surgery. In between vigils, sister six (not a blogger) went out for breakfast with Betty and the husband person.
They began with eggs Benedict at Revel, and wandered around Karangahape Road, and then took the bus to Britomart and walked through the train station. Baggins (sister six) sniffed Christopher Brosius perfumes, examined vintage dresses and perused Scandinavian stationery with the best of them. After much walking, they popped into Raw Power and had a bowl of soup. Civilised, no?
Cathedral Cove
For their first wedding anniversary, Betty and the husband person went to the Coromandel Peninsula. The first major leg of the adventures was to Cathedral Cove, one of the most renowned beaches in this part of the country.
It’s very beautiful. One walks.
For other parts of the trip, gentle readers will have to wait. But isn’t this a lovely spot?
Karekare Beach adventure
Last week’s Thursday adventure was a trip to Karekare beach. It’s famous for shipwrecks, and for a film of an unseemly nature which was filmed there some years ago. Betty had never been there; she was ever so glad she went, because the beach was rather stunning. There was a short coffee run beforehand, and a somewhat leisurely afternoon tea in Titirangi afterwards, mainly because both Betty (who was driving) and the husband person were carsick on the way back, and had to stop and compose themselves. Nonetheless, it was worth it.
A pastoral adventure
After Betty’s usual dance class on Saturday, she and the husband person went to Cornwall Park. It was all looking very springlike, and dotted with people enjoying the sunny, if crisp, atmosphere…
This chap was extremely friendly, even though he’d been on his feet all afternoon posing for photographs.
All in all, it was a lovely chance to walk on the grass and ease out of winter.
Sunset over Waitemata
Betty unexpectedly finished work before dark yesterday, and gentle readers will know what that means. Oui – adventures! It was the work of a moment to hop in the car and whisk the husband person off to Devonport, where they watched the sun set from Mt Victoria.
Hardly anyone else was there, fortuitously, so Betty and the husband person were able to eat grapes and frolic about in peace.
One really should adventure there more often – the mushrooms are lovely.
Adventures all round
To kick off this Thursday’s mandatory adventure, Betty had her hair cut. Viz:
Bob’s your uncle! And then Betty and the husband person went off to Vinyl in the Eden Quarter and had a spot of lunch, with curly fries. Betty has developed a sudden sensitivity to coffee and is going cold turkey this week to avoid bouts of dizziness, so she also had a lemon toddy. It was very nice, Vinyl being quite the thing: it’s also next to the sweetest old-school dancewear shop that sells superhero costumes.
All in all, a most excellent adventure.
Army adventures
The Scandretti-Person household now adheres to a strict regimen of mandatory adventures, held biweekly: on Thursdays, which are Betty’s day off, there is generally a long sleep-in followed by a drive, and on Saturdays, after Betty finishes teaching, there is a dance class in the city followed by some sort of urban hijinks.
For example! On a recent Thursday, the plan was to drive up to the beautiful Shakespear Regional Park. It turned out to be closed, but Betty and the husband person were still able to get to one of the small beaches just inside the park limits.
It’s called Army Bay. Wanna know why?
It was lovely fun: Betty and the HP watched a great many black-suited men manoeuvre their inflatable boats out to sea (which didn’t appear to be as easy as it looks – but points for effort) and then explored the beach in detail. There were more departed starfish than Betty had ever seen. There was a pizza. There was fresh salt air. On the way home, they stopped at a mall and husband person bought Betty a copy of Brigadoon (Gene and Cyd, seventeen-minute dance sequence, four dollars). An excellent adventure, indeed!
